The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the abusive posts on social media and alleged derogatory remarks against the state judiciary.
Notice was issued to 49 leaders and activists of the state’s ruling YSR Congress Party and the agency was ordered to file cases against all who slander judges.
A division bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar and Justice J. Uma Devi, observed that since the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the state police had failed to take appropriate action against those who had made derogatory comments against the judiciary, it was entrusting the case to the CBI for an impartial inquiry.
The bench directed the CBI to take up the investigation, initiate the proceedings against the accused and submit the report to the High Court within eight weeks. It asked the state government to extend all cooperation to the CBI in investigating the case. This development comes two days after Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s scathing attack against Justice N.V. Ramana, where he alleged that the Supreme Court’s second seniormost judge is ‘influencing’ the state’s High Court judges. It is an indication of the fact that the war between the YSRCP in Andhra and the judiciary has escalated.
Recently, the HC came heavily down on the CID probing the case of social media post ings against the judgements, and also chided the Jagan government asking why arrests were not made and actions were not taken in this case.
The court has also ordered the registration of FIRs against those who had passed derogatory remarks against judges on social media. The High Court had earlier observed that the comments made against the judiciary by some YSRCP leaders on social media were “dangerous to democracy.”
The High Court, before handing over the case to CBI, observed that slanderous posts about judges on social media have misrepresented the judgements of the High Court in several cases. As many as 49 people, including some YSRCP activists, have been sent notices by the High Court following a petition filed by a lawyer, who has alleged that the posts on social media were “objectionable” in nature.
The leaders to whom notices have been issued include MP Nandigam Suresh and former Chirala MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan.
TDP leader M. Shivananda Reddy, a former police officer, recently told the HC that there was a social media section of the ruling YCP behind making objectionable remarks on the judiciary and high court judges.
He complained that appropriate action should be taken against them but the CID did not respond appropriately. The HC observed that people occupying high posts indulging in social media posts and comments against the judicial system in Andhra Pradesh, would create “unnecessary doubt” in the mind of citizens “against the judicial system, which may cripple the entire system”.